LUBBOCK, Texas — Ruben Archuleta, 22, of Plainview, Texas, remains in federal custody on a felony criminal complaint filed today that charges him with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday, May 2, 2012, before a federal magistrate judge in Lubbock.

According to the complaint filed in the case, very late on the evening of April 25, 2012, a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle traveling southbound on Farm to Market Road 400, approximately four miles north of Highway 62 in Lubbock County. Ruben Archuleta was a passenger in that vehicle which was driven by his brother, Rene Archuleta. Because the driver was behaving nervously, the trooper requested permission to search the vehicle, however, the driver denied consent.

Shortly thereafter, a canine officer with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office arrived with his canine partner who made a positive alert for narcotics at the front bumper area of the vehicle and inside the vehicle at the front passenger seat. When a search of the vehicle was conducted by the canine officer and the trooper, they located a plastic bag containing methamphetamine between the car battery and the inside fender wall of the vehicle. Ruben Archuleta was arrested.

A federal criminal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.

The investigation is being conducted by the DEA, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, is in charge of the prosecution.